FERC Approves Reliability Standard PRC-005-6 - December 18 - FERC issued a letter order approving Reliability Standard PRC-005-6 (Protection System, Automatic Reclosing, and Sudden Pressure Relaying Maintenance), for which NERC filed a petition for approval on November 13, 2015. PRC 005-6 revises PRC-005-4 to include devices associated with certain automatic reclosing relays and to incorporate language to address the standard’s applicability to owners of dispersed generation resources. The associated implementation plan aligns the compliance dates for all versions of PRC-005 pending enforcement (i.e., PRC-005-2(ii), PRC-005-3(i) and (ii)) with the compliance dates for PRC-005-6.

NERC

NERC Submits 2016 Reliability Standards Development Plan - December 30 - NERC submitted an informational filing containing its 2016 Reliability Standards Development Plan, which serves as a tool for management and coordination of Reliability Standards, serves as a communications tool for standards development, and provides a basis for developing further annual plans and budgets for the Reliability Standards Program. The 2016 Development Plan identifies the current plans and priorities for development and modification of Reliability Standards over the next three years, and addresses emerging risks, new and remaining FERC directives, Paragraph 81 criteria adjustments, and standards authorization requests.

NERC Submits Compliance Filing on Regional Delegation Agreements - December 18 - NERC submitted a compliance filing seeking approval of certain changes to the pro forma Regional Delegation Agreement (RDA) and of RDAs between NERC and each of the eight Regional Entities. FERC conditionally approved revisions to the RDAs in a November 2, 2015 order, in which it also directed these changes.

Congress

FAST Act Includes Provisions on Energy Security - Included in the transportation infrastructure bill signed by President Obama on December 4th (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, Public Law No. 114-94) are amendments to the Federal Power Act (FPA) and other actions aimed at improving the security and resilience of energy infrastructure in the face of emergencies. Among other provisions, the law authorizes the Secretary of Energy to order emergency measures during a grid security emergency, addresses the protection and voluntary sharing of critical electric infrastructure information, provides that any action or omission by a party that is necessary to comply with an emergency order under section 202(c) of the FPA will not be deemed a violation of environmental laws or regulations or subject the party to civil or criminal liability, and directs the Department of Energy, after consultation with FERC, NERC, the owners and operators of critical electric infrastructure and others, to develop and submit to Congress a plan for a Strategic Transformer Reserve. For further analysis, see Van Ness Feldman's Alert entitled “Transportation Infrastructure Law Includes Provisions on Energy Security.”

Regional Developments

WECC Releases 2015 Year in Review - December 21 - WECC released its year-end report for 2015 highlighting its focus on four specific goals: 1) trengthening the Business, 2) Providing Valued and High-Quality Reliability Assessments and Services, 3) Bolstering WECC’s Institutional Capabilities, and 4) Increasing External Engagement. The report states that WECC projects its 2015 budget will be approximately $1 million under spent due to contract deferrals.